Here Comes the Rain Again
by HalcyonDeath
Summary: AU, post-Farewell Swords. Ichigo felt lost when Rukia left, but then a girl who looks just like Rukia enrolls into his class. IchiRuki
1. Where Do I Go?

Um, so this is my first story, I guess, I'd like you guys to review it, tell me what you think, please?

I based this story on some doodles I did during class, haha.

Oh, and I'm going to use random lyrics for titles because...it's fun...

I don't own Bleach.

* * *

><p><em>She's gone, she can't be back.<em>

"Hey, Ichigo!"

_She's gone, she's gone._

"Iiiichigo!"

_I'll never see her again, never…_

"Ichigo! Earth to Ichigo!"

"Huh? What-"

"Gosh, you've been spacing out ever since you came in! What's with you?"

"Oh, uh, nothing…"

"Nothing? Are you sure? You're not in love with someone, are you? Ohhh! You must be!"

"Shut up."

"Ichigo's in love! Ichigo's in love! With who? Must be Inoue, right? Riiiight?"

"I said shut up."

"Ahhh Ichigo's in denial! Ichigo's in-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" And thus Keigo Asano received a strong punch.

"Ah hahaha, so-sorry?"

No response, just a death glare.

"Uh, Ichigo, y'okay?"

"…I'm fine."

"A-all right…"

"Hey guys! Have you guys seen the-huh? Asano-san, why do you have a black eye?" A curious-eyed teen came into view.

"Ichigo punched me!"

"Why?"

"Dunno, ask him!" Keigo lowered his voice and motioned towards the orange-headed boy, "Good luck, though, he won't tell me!"

"Huh? What's wrong Ichigo? What'd he do?"

Silence.

"See? Told you!"

"Tch, get on with it, Mizuiro! What were you about to ask us?" Ichigo suddenly and loudly asked, causing the two boys to jump.

"Oh! Have you met the new student? It's a girl! A really pretty girl, too!"

"Ooh really? What class is she in? How does she look like? Are her boobs big?"

"Hmm, I don't know, I didn't ask. She's…got black hair and black eyes?"

"What about her boobs? Tell me Mizuiro, tell meeee!"

"They were...average, I guess?"

"Awwwwww…I was hoping she'd be a real babe, like the cool exchange student from Tokyo that will have a one-night-stand with anyone, but she's actually not interested in anyone, but I'll still steal her heart somehow!"

"But you don't even know if she's in our class, and...you're not exactly the sexiest guy in school..."

"So? I can always dreaaaam!"

"Um, excuse me, um, is this 3B?" A mop of dark hair with a pale face popped out through the door. The girl had huge, bright eyes compared to her short figure, which only made them seem bigger.

"Yup! Hey, you must be the new student!"

She immediately nodded and began to enter the classroom. "Y-yes-"

"I'm Asano Keigo, and this is Kojima Mizuiro! The emo orange-haired guy right there's our friend Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"O-oh!" The girl was clearly startled, and quickly bowed several times, "N-nice to meet you, uh, Asano-san, K-kojima-san, Kurosaki-san!"

"Well, she's no babe, but she's still pretty, Mizu!"

"Asano-san!" Mizuiro elbowed him.

"What? She is!"

"Um."

The two boys turned to the source of the timid voice. The new student had seemingly retracted her entire body, the only noticeable features were her trembling half-open mouth, a bright red blush coloring her pale white skin, her black hair, which fell to her shoulders, obscuring most of it.

"Oh, woops, sorry! I didn't really mean it, ya know? Wait, no, that's not what I meant!"

"I-it's alright, Asano-san. My name is Amaya S-saki…"

"Saki? That's a really pretty name, ya know!"

"T-thank you…"

"Hey, Ichigo! That's really rude of you! C'mon!" Keigo grasped the gloomy teen's shoulders, "Say hi to Saki-chan!"

"Hah, n-no, it's fine, Asano-san! It's rather n-nice of you, but-"

"Come on Ichigo! Lift your head up! I know you've fallen head over heels for Inoue-chan, but still! Meet our new classmate, will ya?"

Ichigo let out a long sigh.

"…alright."

The brooding teen slowly lifted his head up…

"Sigh…nice to meet you-RUKIA!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Here comes the rain<strong> **again**__,_  
><em>Falling from the stars,<em>  
><em>Drenched in my pain again,<em>  
><em>Becoming who we are...<em>  
><em>- Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day<em>

_You said move on,_  
><em><strong>Where do I go?<strong>_  
><em>I guess second best<em>  
><em>Is all I will know...<em>  
><em>- Thinking of You by Katy Perry<em>


	2. Simple Thing

I swear...I'm pretty sure I'm screwing up all existing canon...

I don't own Bleach.

* * *

><p>The ex-shinigami must have jumped at least 4 feet into the air, his eyes as wide as the fruit that shared his name.<p>

"H-huh?" The girl's face froze, full of confusion. She stared at the finger the orange-head had raised between her eyes.

"Uh, Ichigo, you okay?"

"Wha-yeah, of course! Why wouldn't I be?" He retracted the finger and grinned widely, as if he hadn't burst out loud a few moments ago.

"Ichigo?" Keigo asked slowly.

"Hmm?"

"You called Saki-san Rukia…" Mizuiro said.

"O-oh, I did? Why would I do such a thing! Haha…"

There was a silence between them.

"Omigosh! I can't believe I didn't realize it before, haha!" Keigo suddenly broke the silence and jumped up and down eagerly.

"What…" Ichigo's eyebrows began to burrow suspiciously.

"Of course! You're not in love with Inoue! You're in love with Rukia! I _knew_ you missed her, but not _this_ much! Ha! Ichigo loves Rukia! Ichigo loves Rukia-"

_PUNCH._

"Asano-san's just playing, Ichigo, don't take him seriously!" Mizuiro laughed nervously.

Ichigo grumbled and stared at Keigo's unconscious body.

"S-should…" Two pairs of eyes turned back to the girl, "shouldn't we do something?"

"Oh, no, it's fine! This happens a lot to him, he'll come around in a few minutes, no big deal!" Mizuiro responded.

"A-alright…"

* * *

><p>"K-kurosaki-san? A-am I bothering you?"<p>

"Huh? What? No! Why?" Ichigo responded all too quickly. Saki had been assigned the empty seat on Ichigo's left.

_She used to sit there…_

"Y-you keep staring a-at me…"

"I am? Oh…"

"D-does it have to do with that Rukia person you m-mentioned? S-sorry, I shouldn't a-ask you personal questions-"

"Yeah, it's just…you just look like her a lot." Ichigo unconsciously turned away.

"I do?" Saki smiled lightly, almost apologetically, "N-not many people have hair hanging between their eyes."

"Yeah..." _You kind of smile like her, you have her face, but you're still not her…must be a cruel joke by some god…maybe Urahara..._

"So what k-kind of person was-"

"Oh, it's lunchtime! Gotta go, uh, to the library!" Ichigo quickly bolted out as the bell rang.

"H-huh?"

"Hey Saki-chaaan! Let's go eat on the rooftop! I'll introduce you to Chad, Inoue-chan, and Tatsuki-kun!" Keigo's voice ran loudly from the other side of the room, his hands gesturing wildly for her to follow.

"Don't _call_ me that, Asano!"

"Aw, but you're too manly for me to call you 'Tatsuki-chan'!"

"_Die!_"

Saki chuckled softly and followed them out the door, as Tatsuki lifted Keigo by his collar.

* * *

><p><em>Oh <strong>simple thing<strong>, where have you gone?_  
><em>I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.<em>  
><em>So tell me when you're gonna let me in,<em>  
><em>I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin...<em>  
><em>- Somewhere Only We Know by Keane<em>


	3. So Sweet

You might find the writing in this chapter kinda messed up. I took a break because I didn't like what I wrote.

Oh well, I don't own Bleach.

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><p>"Saki-san, where's Ichigo?" Mizuiro asked as he opened a juice box.<p>

"H-he said he had to go to the library-"

"Haha, library? Why would he go to the library? He doesn't care about reading!" Keigo smirked.

"Are you just asking for it?" Ichigo asked threateningly. Keigo yelped as Ichigo appeared out of the door. He burrowed his eyebrows together as he sat down next to him. The brown-haired teen opened his mouth and then quickly closed it.

"Anyways! So! Tatsuki-chan's opponent that day was 3 times her weight and 2 times her height! _3 times_! But of course, Tatsuki-chan still defeated him with her super-duper-strength!" Tatsuki laughed as she bit into some rice while Orihime recounted the tale of one of Tatsuki's recent matches.

Saki listened intensively, her eyes open wide with admiration. Though she paid hard attention to Orihime's rambles, she couldn't help but look at Ichigo.

In turn, Ichigo could see from the corner of his eyes that the girl was looking at him.

_Stop…looking at me like that…you look too much like her…_

She turned towards him. "K-kurosaki-san." It was almost a whisper, the others hadn't noticed her addressing the orange-haired teen.

He sighed and turned as well. "Yeah?"

"Y-you still haven't answered me." Her tone was surprisingly harsh, even if it was barely audible over the sound of Tatsuki scolding Keigo over some juice he spilled on Orihime's skirt.

The ex-shinigami was at a loss for words. Telling her about Rukia? It wasn't a bad idea, it might be good, actually, to have someone to talk to about the ordeal without them judging him, as Keigo would have done.

_But it might come off as creepy, since they look so alike…hasn't anyone else noticed that?_

Ichigo shifted his eyes towards Orihime and Chad. They both acted normal, like they hadn't realized that Saki was Rukia's exact twin.

_Why are they acting so normal? _He furrowed his eyebrows.

Saki cleared her throat lightly, reminding him of her inquiry back in class.

"Sorry," he paused, trying to keep his voice straight, "I don't really…" His voice trailed off and he shifted his eyes away from her general direction. He took out a red apple from his lunch and focused his attention on it.

"I-I see…" Saki bit her lips, "I'm s-sorry..."

"Yeah…" _Crunch. _He bit into the fruit really hard.

The clouds overhead continued to inch slowly past them.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Inoue!" He knocked on the wooden door again. "Inoue!"<p>

From behind the door, he heard many clinks and clanks as well as the sound of two feet rushing down the stairs. The door opened fiercely as the bright-eyed girl appeared. She was covered in white flour and was sweating. A smell of chocolate filled the air.

She gasped loudly as she tried to recover her breath. "H-hi, Kurosaki-kun! What's up?" She waved a white hand at him and smiled.

"Hey, have-wait…are you baking?"

"Yeah! I'm making cookies for Saki-chan! She says she's never had cookies, can you believe it?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Huh…"

"Yep! So what's up?" She moved to the side to let him in.

Ichigo suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. He took of his shoes and sat down on the couch.

"I just wanted to talk about the new girl, Saki." He waited as she closed the door for her response.

She turned to look at him. To his surprise, she smiled even brighter.

"Saki-chan? You mean about how she looks exactly like Rukia-chan if Rukia-chan grew her hair out?"

He gaped at her. "Er, yeah…you noticed?"

"Of course! Would you like some tea?"

"Sure, thanks…" She turned and left for the kitchen.

"Do you…I mean…" He cleared his throat before sipping the tea she gave him.

"Think she's Rukia? No, she's not." She closed her eyes as she sipped her own tea.

"You sure?" He stared at her.

"Yeah, her, um, spiritual pressure…" She bit her lip uncertainly.

"She has spiritual pressure?" Ichigo was thoroughly surprised.

_Right, I can't detect it anymore…_

"Yeah, but it's different…Saki-chan's is similar, but…it's very weak, and a little…paler? I don't know, I'm sorry…"

"No, no!" Ichigo shook his head and offered her a smile. "Thanks anyways, Inoue!"

* * *

><p>"Hey, don't tell anyone about this!"<p>

"Why not?" She tilted her head.

"Uh…" Ichigo racked his brain for a good explanation.

"You miss her, don't you?" It was an innocent enough explanation, but it stabbed him in the heart.

"…yeah…" He focused his eyes on the cement sidewalk.

"Well…" She thought for a moment, "I miss her too! We all do! Don't worry! She'll come back!" She flashed him another smile and gave him a thumbs-up.

He stared at her thumbs-up and then chuckled. "Thanks, Orihime. Have a good day!" He waved.

"You too, Kurosaki-kun!" She waved back as she closed the door.

* * *

><p><em>It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song,<em>  
><em> You can't believe it, you were always singing along.<em>  
><em> It was so easy, and the words <strong>so sweet<strong>,_  
><em> You can't remember, you try to feel the beat...<em>  
><em>- Eet by Regina Spektor <em>


	4. The Hole in My Head

Since there are such long intervals between the days I work on this, this fic is just...really really inconsistent. I truly apologize for that. I'm going to try to write a little more during the summer, and hopefully finish this ^^"

I still don't own Bleach.

* * *

><p>The following weeks were dotted with awkward greetings and short conversations between the ex-shinigami and his new classmate. For the life of him, Ichigo could not figure out how no one, apart from Orihime, had pointed out Saki's resemblence to his old friend. Finally, on a Friday lunch break, he had enough of this.<p>

"Guys, seriously, do you not see who Saki looks like?" he exhasperated at the five with widened eyes as they sat down for lunch. Saki had not been at school for two days due to a bad fever.

Asano, who was sitting across him, stared at him like he had asked him if the sky was blue. "Duh! Of course!" he let out a very amused laugh, simultaneously lowering Ichigo's mood as the cackles grew louder, "Ichigo, isn't it obvious? We weren't born yesterday, you know!"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I know! I just don't get why none of you have talked about it!"

"Uh, Ichigo!" Mizuiro quickly stepped in, not wanting this to turn violent again, "It's probably because Rukia is such a sore subject with you, and we don't want to upset you!"

"Upset me? How could you upset me by just talking about Rukia?" If the teen wasn't forcefully tearing at his juice box, the question would have sounded much less irritated.

Asano pointed to his mostly healed black eye, unbelieving his friend's ludicrous question. Ichigo stubbornly tched in response.

"Ichigo, you two were best friends that had been through so much together, and now that you've lost your powers, you can't see her anymore, which makes you miss her badly. You've been too prideful to admit it to us, Ichigo, but we all know, so we decided not to mention it. Besides, Saki-chan is new here, she doesn't have to be in the middle of this." Tatsuki, at his right, somehow said through a mouthful of chicken, gazing intently at him.

Ichigo stared with his mouth half-open. Give it to Tatsuki to set it straight. He couldn't respond because it was true. He missed Rukia very much, and he was just venting that onto Saki. There was an awkward silence in the group.

"Well!" Orihime said with an uncertain smile, trying to change the subject, "Saki-chan's been really, really sick, so I think we should all bring her gifts tomorrow morning!"

The group agreed unanimously.

* * *

><p>Ichigo grumbled as he walked home. Why did his friends think it was such a sore subject? Yeah, yeah, he missed Rukia, but they had only known each other for what, a little more than a year? Well, technically, 2 years, but still! He doubted that she was that important to him. Well...he thought back to when Rukia had been summoned to be executed. He had fought tooth and nail to save her, though they had only known each other for a few months.<p>

_Damn it._ He sighed as he unlocked the door to his home. He walked upstairs into his bedroom, where he plopped gloomily into his bed.

He hadn't known her for as long as the rest of the gang, but he _did_ consider her to be one of his closest friends. _Wait, but Tatsuki said 'best friend'...nah, Tatsuki was just wrong about that. My best friend is... _Ichigo stared at the ceiling, amazed. He couldn't think of anyone that'd fit in that category. Asano was good company, but loud, Mizuiro was always too neutral, too introverted, Inoue was sweet, but an airhead. Tatsuki was understanding, protective like him, but that was it. Chad was, well, Chad. Then Rukia _was_ his best friend? _No, no, no, that can't be right._ But it sounded correct...?

He turned his head towards the closet, which Rukia had occupied during her stay in Karakura Town. He smirked as he thought back of the night she had revealed her secret stay in his room. _She scared the crap out of me!_ He snickered at the memory. She was always so unpredictable, stepping into his life from out of the literal blue. _She was also always as a good friend. _No matter what they had been doing, arguing, fighting Hollows, sharing past pains, their moments together had always been so intimate, so warm. _She would do anything if she felt it were right for others. _She flipped his entire life upside down in order to save his life, and he was very thankful for it._  
><em>

He closed his eyes and exhaled.

_She opened up my world, sealed it up after I had stepped into the danger, and left because it was her duty._

* * *

><p><em>You are <strong>the hole in my head,<strong>  
>You are the space in my bed,<br>You are the silence in between what I thought,  
>And what I said,<em>

_You are the nighttime fear,_  
><em>You are the morning when it's clear,<em>  
><em>When it's over you'll start,<em>  
><em>You're my head,<em>  
><em>You're my heart...<br>__- No Light, No Light by Florence + The Machine_


End file.
